The premise of the course is that Beethoven's keyboard sonatas, solo and accompanied, form a body of work worth studying as a whole (as opposed to the usual practice of isolating the solo sonatas). The course will therefore treat nearly all of Beethoven's chamber music involving piano, from the piano quartets of 1785 to the last solo sonata, Op. 111. The winter semester will pick up where the fall semester left off (hopefully ca. Op. 28). Emphasis will fall on the analysis and interpretation of finished works (rather than on compositional genesis). The main textbook will be Charles Rosen, Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion, to be supplemented by Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven: The Music and the Life, James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory (on reserve), and the instructor's ongoing translation of Jürgen Uhde's Beethovens Klaviermusik (available on CTools), among other readings. Grades will be based on in-class participation (performance will be encouraged), analytical essays (two for undergraduates, three for grad students), and (if need be) a final examination. The course is designed for undergraduates and graduates in music; undergraduates must have completed the music history core.

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